


Everybody Cries, We've All Faked A Smile

by IminHamiltonHell (IminUndertaleHell)



Series: I Bet You Don't Curse God [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety-Induced Mutism, Frances and Virginie know each other pretty well, I have a few ideas, I hope someone gets that reference, I might add to this...?, M/M, Mild Sign Language, Philip and Frances were in some shitty foster homes, Philip is a musician and Frances is a writer, This is more of a pilot chunk of it than anything, Underage Smoking, Will add if I need and will add if I continue with this, liKE OLIVER TWIST, please tell me what you think so I can know whether or not to continue, there's a TWIST, this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 14:16:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7536076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IminUndertaleHell/pseuds/IminHamiltonHell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Frances and Philip get to be in the same foster home for the fourth time, they're thrilled that they get to be there for each other. They've been there for a month when their fathers set them up to be translators for the kids of their friends. When they meet, something seems familiar from one side. It doesn't take long to see why. Mild romance from one side ensues</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everybody Cries, We've All Faked A Smile

**Author's Note:**

> okAY THE SONG IS 'I Bet You Don't Curse God' BY CHRISTINA GRIMMIE (may she rest in peace) AND I THINK THAT IT FITS, AND IT'S THE SAME FOR THE TITLE. ALSO, LOTS OF FRENCH AND SLIGHT LATIN
> 
> ALSO JUST ASSUME THAT VIRGINIE AND GEORGES SPEAK IN VERY THICK FRENCH ACCENTS.
> 
> FOLLOW ME ON TUMBLR IF YOU WANT @ THE-FLAMING-CREAMPUFF

Philip already thought that the relationship between his father’s two friends, Lafayette and Hercules, was a bit… unusual. And it wasn’t in that way, since he already had two fathers. It was mostly because of their personalities. Lafayette was a constant bubble of energy, while Hercules was the opposite. 

Of course, this was just what Philip had heard from his fathers. 

“Hey Phili,” Alex smiled as the boy sat at the breakfast bar in their kitchen, drumming a beat on his left arm with the fingers of his right hand.

“Yes, Papa?”

“Laf and Herc are moving in across the street.” Philip’s eyes widened and he groaned at the thought of having to deal with his father’s friends and their apparent non-stop energy, mixed with his father’s equally-energized mind. Alex just laughed. His laughter died down as he continued, “they have a son that’s a few months older than you.”

Philip froze.

“You’re trying to set me up with your friend’s son?”

“Not necessarily,” Alex smirked, dragging out the syllables of the second word. “I set you up to be a translator of sorts.” He sighed. “Georges speaks very little English, so he needs a French-to-English and vice-versa translator.”

“Don’t they have a daughter? Why can’t she do it?”

“Virginie is in the same position as Georges. Frances is going to be translating for her.” Alex’s phone pinged, and he checked it. “And they are about a block from our house right now.”

“Wait, what,” John yelled as he ran down the stairs.

“Laf and them will be here in a few minutes,” Alex laughed as John glared at him.

“I’ll go and tell Frances. Her and Virginie have been gossiping over the phone for the past hour now and I don’t think she realizes that they’re going to be here.” John ran back up the stairs, and Frances bolted down a few seconds later. She almost dropped her phone and slipped as she missed the last step of the stairs. Philip ran and pulled her to her feet. 

There was a knock at the door. Frances opened it, and quickly moved to the side to let the four in. 

“We have arrived,” Laf yelled. They saw Frances and Philip, smiling. “And you must be Frances and Philip.” Virginie stepped forward with a gentle grace, but Herc had to push Georges forward. “These are Virginie and Georges.” The girls began a rapid-fire conversation in French, seeming to have continued their conversation from before, while the other two just stared at each other.

_ He’s so… beautiful. Why the fuck am I stuck with a dude that I’ll probably be staring at 90 percent of the time? _ Philip was cut out of his thoughts when he saw Georges starting to sign. It was confusing, but Philip was relieved that Frances had taught him ASL.

“Georges,  **amour** , you need to speak.”

“It’s alright, Lafayette,” Philip said, still lost in looking at the other in front of him. His voice sounded as lost as he looked. “Frances taught me sign language a while ago.”

“ _ I am very sorry, my anxiety is not liking me, _ ” Georges signed.

“ _ It’s alright. I’m Philip. _ ”

“ _ Georges Mulligan-Lafayette. _ ” The two shook hands after their introductions. Georges shot the other a small smile, before swallowing hard and attempting to speak. “ **Je suis désolé** ,” he said slowly, stuttering here and there.

“ _ Speak when you are ready, sign for now. _ ” Philip gave a soft smile, and Georges just nodded.

“Frances, might you be able to show Virginie and Georges around the house? They’ll probably be here pretty often,” Hercules said as he smiled at the girl. She just nodded and led the two others up the stairs. As soon as they were out of earshot, Philip spoke.

“How bad is Georges’ anxiety?” 

Laf’s eyes widened at this, but they replied nonetheless “It’s just when he meets new people, or when he’s in a new place that he doesn’t speak. With that, he’s pretty sensitive to stressful situations in general.” Philip just nodded at this, seeming content with the reply.

“Philip, bud, you should go up with the others,” John smiled as he patted the other’s shoulder. Suspicious, he nodded again and hurried up the stairs.

And as he walked in the hallway, he ran straight into Georges.

Georges lost his balance, falling backwards with Philip on top of him. The two stared at each other for a second, their faces not even an inch from each other. Then, they started laughing. The other two walked out of Frances’ room and saw what was going on.

“ **Oh Georges, donc de l'avant avec le petit musicien,** ” Virginie giggled.

“ **Va te faire foutre, Virginie.** ” Georges’ face went red as he spoke. Philip rolled off of the other and sat up.

“I mean, I  _ do _ swing that way.” Philip smiled as Georges face became a darker shade of red. While this was all going on, Frances was leaning on the wall due to the fact that she was laughing so hard that she couldn’t stand on her own.

Suddenly, Alex ran up the stairs. He had a distressed look on his face. “What happened? We heard a thud, laughing, and rapid French.” He then looked down and saw Georges, still laying on the floor with Philip sitting next to him. “ **Est ce que tu vas bien?** ”

Georges looked up at the other, trying to form words. It just wasn’t working. His mouth  _ just wasn’t working _ . His brain had so much to say, but he couldn’t say it. He opened his mouth and launched into an attempt to speak. Philip saw his struggle for finding the words, so he patted Georges on the arm.

“I ran into him, we both fell over, and Virginie made a joke. He replied to her, and I pretty much came out to them in, all done in French. Well, except for me at the end. I said that in English,” Philip laughed.

“Don’t get hurt and don’t break anything.” With that, Alex went back down the stairs.

“Okay, so I’m a bit rusty at my conversational French. I can translate, I just really suck at creating conversation. I also suck at remembering phrases,” Philip laughed as he stood. He held his hand out to Georges to help him up. He accepted the help and the two stared at each other again. Why it was that they kept getting lost in each other, they have yet to know. The two shook out of it when Virginie cleared her throat.

Philip, already flustered as it is, hurried down the stairs without another word. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. Alex and John turned to him as he drank his water in silence. He set his cup down and shot them a confused look.

“You have it bad for Georges,” Alex and John laughed in unison.

“I do  _ not _ !” Philip kept a straight face as he snapped, “yeah, he’s cute and all, but it’s not like  _ that _ .” They all just looked at him. “Alright then. Pardon my Latin, but  **pedicabo ego vos omnes** .”

“Oh Philip, you wound me,” Alex laughed with sarcasm dripping from every word. “I’ve heard worse insults from your father in bed, an-”

“I am leaving this conversation. I  _ really _ don’t feel like hearing about the sex lives of my fathers.” With that, he hurried back up the stairs.

“Alright, I want to hear the story of how you found a child that was more sassy and fast-paced than you, Alexandre,” Lafayette said as they leaned on the counter. “How long has it been since you brought him in?”

“It’s been a month, Laf,” John said as he jumped up to sit on the counter.

“He’s just as defiant as me when I was in the system.” Alex joined the other on the counter. “I mean, it’s only been a month. I didn’t expect him to be comfortable overnight. I didn’t expect either of them to get comfortable overnight.”

“Still, how did you find them?” Herc let a small smile settle on his face as John began to tell the story.

“We were originally going to just foster Frances. We went there for an observation of sorts as to see how they interacted with the other kids. There was always this boy with her, and we could tell that it was a sibling bond. When it came time for us to get the paperwork done to foster her, she lashed out. She said she wasn’t going to leave Philip behind. The worker agreed to let us meet with Philip, and Alex saw something that I didn’t.”

“I saw in him what I had felt before the Washington’s adopted me. I saw that look of not knowing what to do in fear of getting hurt. I could see the fight-or-flight scale in him was set to fight. So, I did what George had done with me. I looked him in the eye and explained that John and I wouldn’t hurt him. I told him that I knew what it was like to be stuck in the broken side of the system, and that things would change. Frances translated it to Latin and repeated it to him, because that was what they used when they knew it was someone that they trusted. If they know they can trust someone, they repeat what the other said to them in Latin.”

“Frances has become a security blanket of sorts to him. She’s his rock, she’s what keeps him grounded when his head is in the storm.” John smiled. The room fell silent.

“You know what we should do,” Laf asked, doing their best to change the subject. “We should all go out for a few drinks. We haven’t done that since the last time Herc and I were in the States.”

“Do you think that the kids will be okay,” Herc asked as he bumped his shoulder with Laf’s. “I mean, they’ve been in this country for all of five hours.”

“Well, Virginie and Frances will be okay. The two were already gossiping on the way here,” Alex smiled.

“Philip and Georges hit it off pretty well, so I think they’ll be okay. Plus, Philip knows what to do in case anything triggers an anxiety or panic attack.” John leaned on Alex. “Also, I think the kids might be a bit tired of you two.” Laf’s face became filled with mock anger before they started laughing.

“That would make sense,” Hercules laughed. “They’ve been stuck with us since we left France.” Laf just smacked him on the arm before turning towards the staircase.

“ **Les enfants, venez ici s'il vous plaît!** ” There was a loud crash, and all four of the kids ran down the stairs. Frances was on Virginie’s back, and the two boys were stumbling after them. They were all laughing as France dropped off of Virginie’s back. They all calmed down and turned their attention to the adults in front of them. 

Philip was close enough to Georges to feel his pulse speed up as Hercules cleared his throat. He saw that the other’s breath was becoming shallow and labored. Philip slipped his hand around Georges’ so that his fingers were grazing the inside of his wrist. He started tapping a beat, just a simple one to get him grounded. Within seconds, Georges was calm.

Lafayette stared in amazement at what Philip was able to do. “How did you…”

“That’s what I do when that,” he pointed at Frances, “little nerd’s anxiety kicks up.” He chuckled as Frances stuck her tongue out at him.

“If I’m a nerd, you’re Captain Musical.”

“Only if you’re Mistress Moves.” Frances’ smile turned from a laughing smile to an evil grin.

“Frances, don’t you dare do it,” John laughed. “Please don’t do it.” Frances just cleared her throat and looked over at Philip. He stood there, his shoulder shaking with laughter while Lafayette and Hercules gave Frances a confused look.

“I ain’t no mistress, sugarplum,” Frances smiled in her most convincing Southern drawl. John snorted a laugh before starting to laugh so hard that he put his head on the counter. “One of the few parallels that I have with Dad. I can do a very convincing Southern accent.”

“She convinced her teachers for a solid five months that she was from Texas,” Philip laughed. “It was awesome.”

“So, what did you need?” Frances leaned on the wall that she was near.

“Laf, Herc, Papa and I were going to go out for a bit. Would you four be okay here,” John smiled.

“We should be okay,” Virginie smiled. “Fran and I already know each other pretty well, and we can help Georges and Philip get to know each other!”

“Alright, no fighting, no pranks, and,” Alex playfully glared at Frances, “ _ no _ romantic sabotage.”

“ **Maldición!** ” Frances started laughing. “Why must you be able to read my mind!”

“It’s a talent. We’re going to be heading out now, and we’ll be back by at least two. I want you guys in bed before we get home.” They all nodded as Laf and Herc stood up. Laf gave Virginie and Georges each a kiss on the head.

“Please don’t call me if you need me to drive you home, please,” Philip laughed.

“Herc’s the DD, so you don’t need to worry.” With that, they were out the door. They stood in silence until they heard the car pull out of the driveway and start to go down the street. 

Philip grabbed something off of the counter, but immediately dropped it and ran up the stairs. Georges was about to go after him, but Frances grabbed his arm. He spun around with a look of worry and confusion as she just sighed.

“He’s been on a binge of ideas lately. I’m surprised that he hadn’t done it sooner.” Georges gave her a look filled with more confusion than the last. “Philip writes music, remember? He has hundreds of incomplete songs.” She let go of his arm. “Now you get to hang out with your sister and I because when Philip starts working, he won’t stop until he has to.” Frances began to walk towards the living room and the other two followed. They all sat on the couch, Virginie and Georges on either side with Frances in the middle. 

“This is more of a ‘get to know’ thing than anything else,” Virginie laughed. Frances just nodded as she chuckled. Georges sat in silence. If it wasn’t for the silence that was hanging above them all, they wouldn’t have heard the piano. Frances just smiled as Georges’ face morphed from one of neutrality to amazement.

“It appears that he has drawn a blank. He always plays that song when that ha-” Suddenly, the sound of the piano keys being slammed echoed through. Then, a door slammed and loud footsteps were heard. With that, the tapping of a beat on the front of a book was heard. Georges seemed to be the only one to recognize the song.

Frances smiled as Philip bounced down the stairs. Now, it wasn’t a happy bounce, rather it was a frustrated bounce. He jumped down from the third-to-last step to the ground. He was cradling his leather-bound notebook in his arms and using a pen to tap the beat. He walked into the kitchen and came out a second later.

“I’m going outside. I’ll be back in a few.” With that, Philip was out the front door. Frances let her smile drop and sighed. Georges gave her a look of confusion. She shook her head.

“He’s picked up smoking, mostly from Alex. He sneaks them from Alex’s packs, and I’ve  _ tried _ to get him to stop. He says that it ‘calms him and lets him focus’ and I  _ know _ that that is bullshit.” She put her face in her hands. “I’m a shitty sister.”

“Fran, you are not a bad sister. He just needs a little bit of a nudge.” She looked up at Georges. “ **Frère** , can you go and try to talk to him? Just try to get him inside or something?” He just nodded as he stood up. Virginie moved to comfort Frances as he walked to the door. He looked back at them before continuing through the door.

“Wait.” He stopped at the sound of Frances’ voice. “He uses music to express himself. If he starts singing or humming, don’t be surprised.

He nodded before opening the door and being hit with a gust of cold wind.

“What do you want?” Philip was sitting on the rail of the patio. He had one foot on the railing, the other dangling over the side, and his back to one of the posts. The cigarette was in his hand.

“You… shouldn’t smoke.” His speech was choppy and slurred, but it was still easy to understand.

“Let me guess, Fran sent you?”

“ **Elle pense qu'elle est une sœur de merde.** ” Maybe repeating what Frances had said would help.

“ **Vous pensez que je ne sais pas?** ” Philip glared at him as he blew out a puff of smoke. “ **Dites-lui que ce n'est pas ma faute. J'ai tendance à être auto-destructeur.** ” Nope, it just made the situation worse. “ **Je ne sais pas pourquoi elle a collé avec moi. Je suis assez merdique pour elle. Je suis surpris qu'elle n'a pas encore fait quoi que ce soit à ce sujet.** ”

“She’s been trying to do something about it,” Georges snapped. “We can.. help you. We want to help.” Philip turned his head away from the other.

“Her attempts would be to no avail.”

Suddenly, Georges got an idea. He jumped up onto the rail, right by Philip’s foot. Swinging one of his legs over the rail, he sat facing Philip. He cleared his throat and began to sing.

“ I bet you don't curse God

When the doctor calls

With a stern voice and the test results

And he asks you to come in right away.”

Philip looked up and continued with the next verse.

“I bet you don't curse God

When you're on a plane

In a turbulance, pourin' rain

And you're hoping that you'll make it out okay.”

Philip smiled as the two sang the next part, skipping the chorus entirely. He reached out for Georges’ hand and held it when he was able to get to it.

“I bet you don't curse God

When your child is gone

And he ain't picking up the phone

And it's 2am on a Saturday in July.”

Philip sang the next verse, and Georges watched him with a look of amazement as he flicked the cigarette, not even half-smoked and still smouldering, into the lawn.

“I bet you don't curse God

At your bottom line

And your credit cards are all declined

And you don't know where you're gonna sleep tonight.”

The two then transferred to a calm silence. Philip took out his phone and started to type a message to his friend. He sent it, and Georges’ phone pinged. He took it out and read the message.

**_[Phi]_ ** : Okay, so this Georges kid is horribly cute. I didn’t expect this.

**_[Phi]_ ** : How the hell am I going to be able to do this? Like, I know you’re in France and all, but give me some advice. Please.

He re-read the messages before connecting two-and-two. 

Georges had been talking to this guy that he had met through a friend. Well, the two met through his friend, and his sister is the one who told his friend to tell him about the guy. It’s confusing. But, it was a guy from the U.S. who was just called Phi through the message boards and games he was involved in. Both of their families knew that the two were talking, and were okay with it.

**_[Geo]_ ** : Just look at him.

Philip opened the message and quickly turned his phone off.

“So, you’re Phi, huh?” Georges smiled. Philip’s eyes just widened. “I never expected you to be this cute either.” Georges just started laughing as Philip leaned forward, wrapping Georges in a hug. Philip let out a shaky breath as he let his head settle on Georges’ shoulder.

“Let’s go inside so I don’t worry Frances any more than I already have.” Georges just nodded as Philip let go of him. He almost whined at the loss of heat, but kept silent as the two walked back into the house. 

Frances jumped up from her seat. “Is everything okay?”

“Remember that dude from France I’ve been talking to,” Philip laughed.

“Does Georges know him?”

“No, Georges  _ is _ him.” Frances just gave a wicked smile.

“I need to find those sonnets you wrote about him, Phili,” she laughed as she ran into the kitchen.

“I will  _ literally _ murder you if you do that!” He ran after her, laughing as he yelled.

Georges just smiled because he was still in awe. He also smiled because everything was going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> French Translations:  
> Amour: Love
> 
> Je suis désolé: I am sorry
> 
> Oh Georges, donc de l'avant avec le petit musicien: Oh Georges, so forward with the little musician
> 
> Va te faire foutre, Virginie: Fuck you, Virginie
> 
> Est ce que tu vas bien?: Might you be alright?
> 
> Les enfants, venez ici s'il vous plaît!: Children, come down here please!
> 
> Frère: Brother
> 
> Elle pense qu'elle est une sœur de merde: She thinks she's a shitty sister
> 
> Vous pensez que je ne sais pas?: Do you think that I don't know that?
> 
> Dites-lui que ce n'est pas ma faute. J'ai tendance à être auto-destructeur: Tell her that it's not her fault. I tend to be self-destructive
> 
> Je ne sais pas pourquoi elle a collé avec moi. Je suis assez merdique pour elle. Je suis surpris qu'elle n'a pas encore fait quoi que ce soit à ce sujet: I don't know why she has stuck with me. I've been pretty shitty to her. I don't know why she hasn't done anything about it.
> 
> Spanish Translations:  
> Maldición!: Damnit!
> 
> Latin Translations:  
> Pedicabo ego vos omnes: Fuck you all


End file.
